Mayor hopes night market will not be a Covid-19 hotspot

File photo
File photo

DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio hopes that the reopening of the Roxas Night Market will not be a "contributor to the city's Covid-19 pandemic problem."

"Hopefully, maabre nato siya nga di mamahimo nga problem for our Covid-19 pandemic (Hopefully, the opening of the Roxas Night Market will not contribute any problem to our fight against the Covid-19 pandemic). We will try to put all the security and health protocols para di mausab ang ing-ana nga terrorist incident, and dili siya mahimong contributor sa Covid-19 problem (so that this terrorist incident won't happen again, at the same time, will not contribute to our Covid-19 problem)," Duterte-Carpio said in an ambush interview on Wednesday afternoon, September 2, after the commemoration ceremony of the Roxas Night Market bombing.

The city is now preparing for the reopening of the night market.

The night market was closed on March 12, 2020, together with other public parks, days after the national government declared a state of public health emergency due to the threat of Covid-19.

The mayor in early August announced its reopening since the city is now under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).

Earlier, the mayor said the night market will be adapting to the "new normal," where only 25 percent of the total number of vendors and other workers will operate. They will be operating under a two-week shifting schedule.

The number of persons allowed to enter the night market will also be limited to prevent mass gathering.

Also, tenants, suppliers, and security personnel of the night market will be tested for Covid-19 before they will be allowed to operate once the night market reopens as part of its health measure.

Initially, the mayor said the night market will resume operations by September 1, but was postponed.

Some Dabawenyos took to social media their concern in the city's move to reopen the night market as they feared that this would further increase the city's Covid-19 cases.

But the mayor said they will observe the night market's gradual reopening to determine if minimum health protocols will be properly observed.

If the city's Covid-19 situation will not worsen days after its initial operation, Duterte-Carpio said the public can expect that the market's operating capacity will be increased.

Practice 'Culture of Security'

The bombing incident happened on September 2, 2016, claiming 15 lives and injuring 69 others.

Unlike the previous years, this year's commemoration program was shortened and only a few city officials, Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles, and some of the survivors were invited. This is part of the city's preventive measure to avoid mass gathering, which might lead to the Covid-19 transmission.

This year's commemoration happened days after the twin bombings in Jolo, Sulu that killed 15 persons, including seven soldiers, while leaving 77 others injured.

Duterte-Carpio urged Dabawenyos to remain vigilant as the city is not "immune" from the terrorist activities.

The mayor said the public should "be an active partner of the city's Culture of Security campaign," emphasizing the role of the Dabawenyos in anti-terror

activities of the city.

"We have been hard in campaigning the 'Culture of Security' in the city," she said.

"Hopefully, masulod na sa kasing-kasing ug panghuna-huna sa mga Dabawenyos kada adlaw (We hope our campaign will be instilled in the minds and hearts of Dabawenyos all the time, that we should always be vigilant because it can happen anytime)," she said.

Davao City has since strengthened its security and anti-terrorism efforts with the launch of the "Culture of Security" -- a people-centered campaign that encourages Dabawenyos to adopt vigilance into their way of life.

The campaign, dubbed "May Nakita? Dapat Magsalita!", was launched in July this year by the City Government and the Task Force Davao following the issuance of Executive Order 41, an Order Encouraging Dabawenyos to Adopt the Culture of Security as Part of their Way of Life.

The mayor said during the launching that it is aimed "to strengthen the peace and order and prevent all acts of terrorism in Davao City" where all Dabawenyos are urged to practice the four acts of the culture of security - Volunteer, Report, Remind, and Participate.

The "May Nakita? Dapat Magsalita!" campaign emphasizes vigilance and for the public to report suspicious individuals and activities immediately to the security units.

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